Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 38

Devanagari script

इयमेका सरिच्छ्रेष्ठा ऋषिकोटिनिषेविता । नान्या काचित्त्रिलोकेऽपि रमणीया नरेश्वर

Transliteration

iyamekā saricchreṣṭhā ṛṣikoṭiniṣevitā | nānyā kācittriloke'pi ramaṇīyā nareśvara

Translation

Celle-ci seule est la plus excellente des rivières, honorée par des crores de sages. Nulle autre, dans les trois mondes, n’est aussi charmante, ô seigneur des hommes.

Word by Word

• iyam: this (she/this river)
• iyam: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: idam (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), एकवचन (Singular); सर्वनाम (pronoun)

• ekā: one, unique
• ekā: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: eka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; विशेषण (adjective)

• sarit-śreṣṭhā: best among rivers
• sarit-śreṣṭhā: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sarit (प्रातिपदिक) + śreṣṭha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (genitive determinative): ‘सरितां श्रेष्ठा’

• ṛṣi-koṭi-niṣevitā: frequented/served by crores of sages
• ṛṣi-koṭi-niṣevitā: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ṛṣi (प्रातिपदिक) + koṭi (प्रातिपदिक) + niṣevita (कृदन्त; नि√सेव्)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (past passive participle) ‘निṣेवित’ = ‘सेविता’; तत्पुरुष-समास: ‘ऋषिकोटिभिः निषेविता’

• na: not
• na: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेध-अव्यय (negation particle)

• anyā: another (one)
• anyā: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: anya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; ‘अन्या’ (another [river])

• kācit: any (at all)
• kācit: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kim (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; अनिश्चित-सर्वनाम (indefinite pronoun)

• tri-loke: in the three worlds
• tri-loke: Adhikaraṇa (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tri (प्रातिपदिक) + loka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (Locative/7th), एकवचन; द्विगु-समास: ‘त्रयाणां लोकानां समाहारः’

• api: even, also
• api: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: api (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय/अपि-अव्यय (particle: even/also)

• ramaṇīyā: charming, delightful
• ramaṇīyā: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ramaṇīya (प्रातिपदिक; √रम् + अनीय)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; कृदन्त-विशेषण (gerundive/नीयत्: ‘to be delighted in’ → delightful)

• nara-īśvara: O lord of men (king)
• nara-īśvara: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nara (प्रातिपदिक) + īśvara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन-विभक्ति (Vocative), एकवचन; तत्पुरुष: ‘नराणाम् ईश्वरः’

Speaker

Narrator addressing a King (nareśvara); exact named speaker not in snippet

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Revā (Narmadā)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: nareśvara (king addressed)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A wide, luminous river (Revā) flowing between wooded banks; clusters of sages in meditation and teaching; the river personified as a gentle goddess, suggesting unmatched beauty across the worlds.

Characters & Entities

• Revā (Narmadā)
• Ṛṣis
• Triloka

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The tīrtha’s greatness is affirmed by saintly association: the highest sanctity and beauty are measured by the presence and practice of innumerable ṛṣis.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Revā—identified with the Narmadā—explicitly praised as the foremost river-tīrtha.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit rite; the verse implicitly recommends sevā and residence/association with the river through the model of the sages.